Etihad stadium custom tablet enclosures
Sprocket partnered with Telstra and Samsung to design, manufacture, assemble and install 955 “Smart Seats” at the Etihad Stadium Medallion Club. The last of the in-seat tablets was installed in late June 2016, providing Medallion club members with a whole new game day experience.
According to Samsung mobility head Danny Mandrides, the Smart Seat solution “involves the creation of an ecosystem of hardware, applications, and software security to support a rich visual experience directly from the stadium seat,” The interactive touch screens offer access to all Fox Sports and free-to-air channels, meaning patrons can check in on other games in progress.
Sprocket were first approached in 2015 with the challenge of incorporating a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 into the Stadium seats. The solution had to be robust, water resistant, and easy to use. Being experienced and prolific interactive technology designers, it was a challenge Sprocket accepted with relish. After months of late nights, design revisions, development, testing and prototyping, the elegant solution was finally completed and signed off. Injection-moulded parts and metal components started rolling off the production line in May 2016 and in a high-paced but precise fortnight, 955 units were assembled in Sprocket’s Melbourne factory, then immediately delivered and installed by another Sprocket team at the stadium.
The result, according to Etihad Stadium chief executive Michael Green is “a global first product which takes the in-stadium sports experience to another level.” Another happy customer, and pats on the back all round at Sprocket, it was a tough couple of months but in the end an amazing job.
